Sen. Richard Codey (left) says Gov. Christie (right) hasn't implemented a law allowing judges to make people attend therapy despite his public support of mental health services.Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie has been slow to implement a law giving judges authority to order severely mentally ill people to undergo outpatient treatment, despite the governor's call to improve the mental health system following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, State Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) said today.

The "involuntary outpatient commitment" law allows judges to demand people take medication and go to therapy if they pose a danger to themselves or others in the "foreseeable future," or else face being involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility.

Codey said the law Gov. Jon Corzine enacted in 2009 was supposed to be operating in all 21 counties by now, with seven counties added every year starting in 2010. But Christie delayed rolling out the law when he took office in 2010, saying the state's finances were too dire to afford it.

Since August, however, community nonprofit mental health agencies and court officials have been operating programs in Essex, Warren, Union, Burlington and Hudson counties, with Ocean County expected to begin enrolling patients in the spring, state Human Services spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy said.

The state has devoted $2 million to the implementing the law, according to the department.

"We have no plans right now" to expand into additional counties, Lovejoy said.

“If the governor really does believe that mental health is an issue of importance, as he has stated on numerous national news programs, he should put his money where his mouth is," said Codey, who sponsored the legislation and championed it when he was governor in 2004-05. "He should fully fund the IOC program and move forward with full implementation."

Codey cited the governor's interview on NBC’s “The Today Show” last week, when he said violence in the media, mental health and substance abuse issues should be evaluated.

“All you’re focusing on right now is gun control. What about the violence in our video games?” Christie told host Matt Lauer. “The fact is we need to have a conversation about all these things. We have a woman, Matt, in Camden who decapitated her child and then killed herself while high on crack.”

Codey said the governor's comments don't match his actions.

“The governor told a national audience that we should be focusing on the treatment of mental health issues. Yet, here in New Jersey, he has refused to implement a program that will provide critical treatment to those suffering with mental illness and that has been proven successful elsewhere," such as in New York, Codey said.